~ ’Team Swachh Bharat Action Kits’ – are innovative behaviour change tool kits that uses games and activities to promote good sanitation and hygiene habits among children through a playful learning approach ~

Mumbai, 17th November, 2016: ‘Team Swachh Bharat’, is an initiative co-developed by WASH United and UNICEF, in support of Government of India’s ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’. With the support of Viega - a German MNC operating in India and one of the world leaders in installation technology for sanitary and heating, ‘Team Swachh Bharat Action Kits’ will be provided to 3,500 schools across India. These play-based kits will enable nearly 7,00,000 children to improve the practice of sanitation and hygiene through games and activities.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ (SBM), a country-wide campaign for a clean India in August 2014. Under SBM initiative various programs are underway. One of the campaign’s ambitious goals is to provide access to toilet for every Indian by the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth on 2nd October 2019. Various NGOs along with government agencies are working on numerous fronts to implement SBM.

‘Team Swachh Bharat’ is one such initiative which was co-nitiated by WASH United and UNICEF, to create an India where everyone uses a toilet. As the first company to join ‘Team Swachh Bharat’, Viega supports the distribution of ‘Team Swachh Bharat Action Kits’ to 3,500 schools, thereby reaching up to 7,00,000 children across India. This kit combines play-based learning with rule-based habit formation and engages children through daily and weekly activities throughout the academic year.

“We are sure that the WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) in school component under ‘Team Swachh Bharat’ will bring positive change to the lives of many Indian children, and with its educative approach improve the standards of hygiene in the country in a sustainable manner,” said Anna Viegener, member of the Management Board and shareholder of Viega. Commenting further, She said, “WASH United’s and Viega’s common passion and professional focus on sanitation forms an excellent ground for a partnership. WASH United promotes sanitation and hygiene in India since as early as 2012. To Viega, sanitation and drinking water excellence have been core competencies for more than 117 years. An excellent opportunity to join forces - especially in light of Viega’s investment into the Indian market.” The German family-owned company has now been operating in India for eleven years and currently plans to invest 20 million Euro in phase 1 into a local production facility in Gujarat.

Thorsten Kiefer, founder and CEO of WASH United, acknowledges this commitment by Viega, “We are very pleased that a global player of the sanitary industry has taken an interest in the campaign. A company that is investing in production facilities for sanitation products in India and simultaneously doing something to improve the living conditions of the people, that’s a perfect combination. WASH United has been campaigning for better standards of hygiene in India since as early as 2012. It is critically important that we influence the attitudes and behaviours of those who form the future of India. If children grow up considering toilet use a personal priority and the only acceptable option to relieve oneself, open defecation is bound to come to an end. Hence we launched The ‘Team Swachh Bharat’ campaign in January 2016. From September 2016 ‘Team Swachh Bharat’ has started providing schools with ‘Team Swachh Bharat Action Kits’.Team Swachh is excited to welcome Viega - a global player in sanitary industry as a partner as their contribution will enable us to take an important step into this direction and achieve our goals. We would communicate this through WASH United and Team Swachh social media channels, hoping to create a potential precedent also for other corporates.”